Abstract: Devices cut from cardboard, and preferably corrugated cardboard, are provided with a step-shaped tab at the end of one panel, preferably with only two steps, and a cutout in the end of another overlapped panel with a cutout corresponding to the shape and orientation of the step-shaped tab. A slit even with the second step of the cutout is made with a length of greater extent than the length of the wider first step of the tab such that the slit extends beyond the second step on each side by an extent equal to about twice the width of the first step of the tab, whereby inserting the tab into the slit is facilitated by the second step of the tab in cooperation with the step-shaped cutout, and the tab is locked in the slit by its extended ends pressing on the edges of the first step of the two-step tab.

Abstract: A putter is disclosed for use in training a golfer in a style of putting in which a crossrod at the upper end of the club shaft is provided with a sleeve supported at each end by ball bearings on a reduced diameter portion thereof extending from the shaft toward the golfer while the golfer addressed a ball. The golfer maintains a firm grip on the sleeve with one hand during the backswing and the ensuing pendulum-like stroke while using the other hand to grip a portion of the crossrod that extends out away from the golfer in order to raise the club head to a desired height during the backswing, after which that portion is released or held with a light grip should the golfer want to add more power for a longer and/or uphill putt. The golfer may thus maintain his body steady during the putting stroke for greater consistency in putting on the green in the course of play.

Abstract: A novel isolated, capacitive idling, Cuk switching-mode converter features two separate nonisolated feedback loops, one on the primary side to regulate against input voltage changes and the other on the secondary side to regulate against load current changes only. While preserving cost, size and simplicity of conventional multiple output switching-mode converters, the new converter and feedback control approach offers the advantages of simple feedback control implementation due to elimination of isolation requirements in the feedback control circuits, simultaneous regulation of all output voltages from no load to full load, and greatly improved bandwidth and step-load transient response. For operation from a rectified ac line, feedback control on the input to the transformer is modified to force the average input current to follow the full-wave rectified ac line voltage for unity power factor (UPF) performance on the input and wide bandwidth voltage regulation on the output.

Abstract: A gas discharge lamp ballast provides near unity power factor simultaneously with high-frequency lamp ballasting in a single switching power conversion stage resulting in efficiency improvements, reduction in size and weight and reduced component count and cost. The single conversion stage comprises a fast-recovery diode connecting in series the input inductor, energy transfer capacitor and the resonant matching network, and switching means alternately connecting the first junction between the input inductor and energy transfer capacitor, or the second junction between the matching network and the other side of said capacitor to the return current path. The switching means comprises two current bidirectional switches driven out of phase, thus producing a square-wave high frequency voltage source, which is in turn converted by the resonant matching network into a sine-wave ac current source required by the gas discharge lamp.

Abstract: A biocalorimeter and waste management system is provided for making metabolic heat release measurements of animals or humans in a calorimeter (enclosure) using ambient air as a low velocity source of ventilating air through the enclosure. A shroud forces ventilating air to pass over the enclosure from an end open to ambient air at the end of the enclosure opposite its ventilating air inlet end and closed around the inlet end of the enclosure in order to obviate the need for regulating ambient air temperature. Psychrometers for measuring dry- and wet-bulb temperature of ventilating air make it possible to account for the sensible and latent heat additions to the ventilating air. A waste removal system momentarily recirculates high velocity air in a closed circuit through the calorimeter wherein a sudden rise in moisture is detected in the ventilating air from the outlet.

Abstract: A wall-mounted hook for hanging a string instrument from a neck proximate a head having pegs for tuning strings comprising a wall-mounting plate having a protruding base, a yoke having a shaft and two prongs extending from said shaft, said prongs being spaced to engage said instrument around said neck thereof proximate said tuning head, and means for securing said shaft to said base and for allowing said yoke to swivel on said base about an axis of said shaft.

Abstract: A nonvolatile magnetic random access memory can be achieved by an array of magnet-Hall effect (M-H) elements. The storage function is realized with a rectangular thin-film ferromagnetic material having an in-plane, uniaxial anisotropy and inplane bipolar remanent magnetization states. The thin-film magnetic element is magnetized by a local applied field, whose direction is used to form either a "0" or "1" state. The element remains in the "0" or "1" state until a switching field is applied to change its state. The stored information is detcted by a Hall-effect sensor which senses the fringing field from the magnetic storage element. The circuit design for addressing each cell includes transistor switches for providing a current of selected polarity to store a binary digit through a separate conductor overlying the magnetic element of the cell.

Abstract: Apparatus for imparting a spiral spin on a fluid in zone 2 surrounding a columnar substance in zone 1 which may be a metal electrode or a fluid, such as gas for welding. The spirally spinning fluid may be an inert gas for sheathing zone 1 down to the welding site on a workpiece. For a four-stroke-cycle internal combustion engine, exhaust gas return (EGR) in zone 1 is sheathed from a fuel-air mixture in zone 3 by the spirally spinning fluid (fresh air) in zone 2. In a two-stroke-cycle engine, the spirally spinning fluid in zone 2 may be injected gas while the EGR is injected in zone 1. Fresh air, precharged in the cylinder at the end of the power stroke, constitutes zone 3.

Abstract: A laser video disk master is operated at 2.times. speed for duplicating video information to be recorded in VHS format. Two last disk video players are modified to operate in synchronism in order to multiplex from one to the other in duplicating video programs of length equal to the two recorded disks. The 2.times. frequency NTSC format video output signal is then demodulated, drop out detection is performed, and the digitally-encoded stereo audio information is separated, error corrected, and converted by digital to analog (D/A) conversion to left and right channels of stereo analog information. The left and right channels of audio information are presented simultaneously to an FM modulator for presentation to rotating video heads and to a 2.times. Dolby processor for presentation to linear heads. The demodulated 2.times. video information is converted to digital information by an analog to digital (A/D) converter and then time-base corrected and drop out compensated.

Abstract: An inner-product array processor is provided with thresholding of the inner product during each iteration to make more significant the inner product employed in estimating a vector to be used as the input vector for the next iteration. While stored vectors and estimated vectors are represented in bipolar binary (1,-1), only those elements of an initial partial input vector that are believed to be common with those of a stored vector are represented in bipolar binary; the remaining elements of a partial input vector are set to 0. This mode of representation, in which the known elements of a partial input vector are in bipolar binary form and the remaining elements are set equal to 0, is referred to as trinary representation. The initial inner products corresponding to the partial input vector will then be equal to the number of known elements. Inner-product thresholding is applied to accelerate convergence and to avoid convergence to a negative input product.

Abstract: An approach is presented for relaxing the oversampling requirements in a .DELTA..SIGMA. modulator based analog-to-digital converter through parallel .DELTA..SIGMA. modulation channels with decimation filtering and modulation by sequences u.sub.r (n) and v.sub.r (n) derived, for example, from an M.times.M Hadamard matrix. By combining M .DELTA..SIGMA. modulators, each with an oversampling ratio of N, an effective oversampling ratio of approximately NM is achieved with only an M-fold increase in the quantization noise power. In the special case of N=1, full-rate analog-to-digital conversion is achieved. The individual .DELTA..SIGMA. modulators can be any selected from a large class of popular .DELTA..SIGMA. modulators. Unlike most other approaches to trading modulator complexity for accuracy, the system retains the robustness of the individual .DELTA..SIGMA. modulators to circuit imperfections.

Abstract: Gamma radiation leaving the surface of a radioactive materials storage vessel is measured and monitored using a plurality of gamma ray absorbing calorimeters. The gamma ray energy absorbed is converted into heat and such heat is measured or indicated for the purpose of monitoring expected radioactive decay processes of the stored radioactive materials. Material leakage or removal from storage is detected and defined by deviations from the normal expected decay in gamma radiation. Such deviation or lack of deviation, as the case may be, provide the desired accountability of the radioactive materials. Since there can be several bands of gamma ray radiation, both flux and its energy level may be determined by using different gamma absorbing materials in the calorimeters selected for the known possible energy levels of the decaying radioactive material.

Abstract: A ski-deck adapted to be easily knocked down for storage or transport is provided by having telescoping side frames that secure rollers on bearings for a looped carpet over a ski deck and adjustable fitting on vertical support rails secured to horizontal support rails in order to adjust the height and slope of the ski deck. Horizontal safety rails are secured to vertical support rails for a waist belt and ski-grips with a safety switch that will stop the motor drive for the looped carpet. A motor speed control potentiometer is provided on top of a vertical support rail for the ski student's use in adjusting the simulated downhill skiing speed desired.

Abstract: A lift for raising and lowering large cylindrical tanks, which when filled with a fluid such as liquid nitrogen are very heavy, is provided with a base consisting of two parallel beams, each with a wheel at each end and a cross beam closer to one pair of wheels than the other to leave a U-shaped part of the base that may be positioned around a tank. An upright telescoping beam has a horizontal rod at its upper end that engages an eye on a strap welded to the tank. When the upright telescoping beam is extended by a jack having one end on a seat secured to a hollow beam and the other end secured to the telescoping beam, the cylinder is raised in a nearly vertical position. Side struts aid in supporting the upright hollow beam, and each side strut supports a bumper rod that prevents the tank from dragging on the upright hollow beam. Pulleys with V-belts are positioned on the bumper rods to prevent the tank from dragging on the bumper rods.

Abstract: A positive feed spindle with automatic retraction for driving a thread cutting tool is provided by using a fixed feed nut threaded on the spindle. A motor drives the spindle through a gear train that includes a first coupling gear with upper side teeth for engaging lower side teeth of a second coupling gear that also has upper side teeth engaging lower side teeth of a third coupling gear. The first and third coupling gears are continually driven by the motor in opposite directions through radial teeth of each. The second coupling gear on the same shaft as the first and third coupling gear is automatically raised when the spindle has been driven a predetermined extent by raising the shaft to disengage from the first and engage the third to reverse direction of the spindle. Radial teeth of the second coupling gear remain meshed with teeth of an idle gear in the drive train.

Abstract: A conventional phase-locked loop is improved by replacing its phase detector with one comprising a linear ramp generator and a sample-and-hold circuit, thus eliminating the need for a lowpass loop filter, although the output of the sample-and-hold circuit may be filtered in the case of a very low level modulating signal on the incoming FM signal, but then filtering is not a difficult problem as in a conventional phase-locked loop. The result is FM demodulation by zero-order estimation. For FM demodulation by first-order estimation, the arithmetic difference between adjacent samples is formed, and using a second sample-and-hold circuit an arithmetic difference signal is produced as an input to a second ramp generator that is reset after each sampling cycle to generate a ramp the slope of which is a function of the arithmetic difference signal stored in the second sample-and-hold circuit.

Abstract: A current conductor is provided with opposing notches to produce a restricted section and with magnetic flux sensors on opposite sides of the restricted current section. The flux sensors are connected to differential amplification circuitry. The restricted section increases the concentration of magnetic flux sensed, and the differential amplification circuitry eliminates the sensing of currents in external conductive paths. An electrostatic shield is provided between the shaped conductor and the magnetic flux sensors to elminate electrostatic effects on the output signal. The flux sensors and differential amplification circuitry is fabricated in an integrated circuit chip. For small currents, the shaped conductor may be deposited on the chip; otherwise a shaped conductor is formed and a mounting substrate of insulating material, such as ceramic, is used to support the integrated circuit chip on the shaped conductor with each of the two sensors centered respectively within the two opposite notches.

Abstract: A railroad car having a flat bed at the lowest possible level and a roof and side panels supported by stanchions at an extraordinary height is provided with cantilevered wheel seats for support of the front wheels of semistacked trucks with each truck backed into position by a forklift with the front end of the truck raised and its rear frame tucked in under the front end of a preceding truck. Side rails secured to the stanchions about one foot from the bed and about six inches in front of the stanchions help guide the trucks into proper position. Each wheel seat is comprised of two cantilevered box beams inserted into box receptacles supported by horizontal side box beams secured to the stanchions. A cross beam secured to the free end of the cantilevered box beams enhance the ability of the cantilevered box beams to support the weight of the truck and provide a place to secure an eye that receives a hook of a tie-down chain in a position directly below the front wheel axle of the truck.